Media Happy Hour — Reporter Dossier
Pacific Legal Foundation • Prepared September 24, 2026 • 26 attending reporters from 15 outlets (PLF staff omitted)
Photos load from public profiles (Muck Rack and outlet pages) when you're online; initials appear if a photo can't load. Names link to each reporter's profile or author page. Internal use only.
Timely hooks this week
- Mon., Sept. 28: the Supreme Court's long conference considers five PLF petitions:
- Khatibi: California's implicit-bias training mandate for doctors (compelled speech).
- Thompson v. Wilson: 24/7 federal GPS tracking of lobster boats (Fourth Amendment).
- Coalition for Fairness in SoHo and NoHo v. New York City: an "Arts Fund" fee of more than $100 per square foot (about $250,000 for an average artist loft) to convert to regular residential use (Takings Clause).
- Majestic Realty v. Salazar: Redlands, Calif., mall owners ask the Court to overturn PruneYard, which forces them to host activists on their property (First and Fifth Amendments).
- Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County: mostly Asian American parents challenge magnet middle school admissions changes that cut Asian American admissions 23% in 2017 and another 20% in 2018 (Equal Protection).
- Other pending cert petitions: Young (race-based workplace training), Anibowei (border phone searches), Walls (court access for takings claims).
- New suits this month: Bingham (Idaho water, Sept. 22), Zhong v. UW (Sept. 15), MBA v. New Jersey (Sept. 3), Farris (Virginia trespass), Gallagher (N.C. nurse practitioners).
- Recent wins:
- Nevada brokers (Sept. 9): a federal judge struck down Nevada's rule forcing out-of-state real-estate brokers to run their licensed business from an in-state office.
- Ramirez v. Texas City (Sept. 4): the Fifth Circuit ruled that contractor Michael Ramirez was wrongly denied a jury to set his compensation after the city demolished his home without notice.
- Santoro (July 28): a federal court voided Johnston, R.I.'s eminent-domain seizure of a family's land, which was slated for a 252-unit affordable housing project.
- Houston contracting (July 28): a federal court permanently struck down Houston's rule requiring non-minority-owned firms to subcontract up to 19% of city contracts to minority-owned businesses.
- Sandra May (July 24): Honolulu agreed to cut an 83-year-old retiree's $600,000 fine for advertising a rental by 95%.
Who's coming
Deseret News: Cami Mondeaux
The Independent: John Bowden
Inside Higher Ed: Ryan Quinn
Lilly Broadcasting: Brendan Scanland
LA Times: Ana Ceballos
National Review: Eva Terry
NYT: Zach Montague
NPR: Carrie Johnson
USA Today: BrieAnna Frank
Washington Sun: Jackie Llanos
Washington Times: Alex Swoyer
Bloomberg Government & Bloomberg Law
Joined BGov in April 2026 after nearly four years covering Congress and breaking news at the Washington Examiner. Covers House scheduling, leadership and committee races, and midterm politics — recently the House canceling September session weeks and Rep. Glenn Thompson's bid to stay top Republican on the Agriculture Committee.
PLF work to flag: Sen. Lummis's bill restoring Clean Water Act farming exemptions, with Wyoming landowner David Hamilton's $62 million fine as the human face; PLF's take on the congressional housing bill.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
Covers the federal courts as an institution: judges, judicial ethics, and friction between the administration and the bench. Recent stories include an ethics complaint against a DHS lawyer over "worst judges" posts and a judge's ruling on White House renovations (Aug. 2026).
PLF work to flag: Walls (can courts make a property owner petition a county legislature before hearing his case?); the fishery-council ruling that found a constitutional violation but left the rule in place; PLF's post-Jarkesy jury-trial docket (Willmore Lumber v. OSHA, Ramirez).
Recent PLF coverage: None found under her byline.
Deseret News
Opened the Deseret's D.C. bureau in 2025 after stints at the Washington Examiner and KSL. Covers Congress and the Utah delegation, including Trump's orders shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante (July 2026).
PLF work to flag: Willard Land v. Army Corps — a Box Elder County homebuilder whose 265-home project was blocked over an irrigation ditch; PLF's Antiquities Act work ("A monumental tug-of-war", National Review); the federal lands mineral-inventory study.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
The Independent
Covers national politics for a large, fast-moving digital audience, with a focus on the Senate and the 2026 midterms. Recent: Trump's airport greeting of Xi and fact-checks of members' social posts (Sept. 2026).
PLF work to flag: Clear, relatable client stories: Sandra May (83-year-old whose $600K fine was cut 95%), the Bingham family farm; Senate angle via the Lummis Clean Water Act bill.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
Inside Higher Ed
Covers higher-ed policy in statehouses and Washington. This week alone: Iowa civics-center advisers resigning, the Education Department redirecting $235M in minority-serving-institution funds, and Newsom's veto on colleges hiring undocumented students. Formerly at the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
PLF work to flag: Zhong v. University of Washington (race-conscious admissions, joined Sept. 15); PLF's petition to repeal the 1979 Title IX Policy Interpretation (op-ed); Young as a parallel to campus DEI training.
Recent PLF coverage: Wrote "Black-Only Scholarship Ends After Opponents Use Anti-KKK Law" (Oct. 2025) on PLF's UC San Diego suit, and cited PLF's KKK Act strategy again in his Hispanic Scholarship Fund story (Dec. 2025).
Lilly Broadcasting
Brendan Scanland +1 guest
Translates national stories for Pennsylvania and New York TV audiences. Recent packages: U.S.-Iran tensions at the U.N., Trump and lawmakers on AI regulation, media outlets suing over White House access (Sept. 2026). Scranton native, Syracuse alum.
PLF work to flag: Pennsylvania: Goldberg, which the Pa. Supreme Court agreed to hear — a jury-trial fight over nearly $1M in agency penalties. New York: Chen v. Mamdani (NYC specialized high schools). Data centers: PLF's Sept. 24 op-ed in The Hill.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
Los Angeles Times
Covers Washington through a California lens, including Trump's clashes with Newsom. Previously covered the DeSantis administration for the Miami Herald, focused on immigration and education; Polk Award winner. SDSU grad who grew up in San Diego and Tijuana.
PLF work to flag: California cases with a federal hook: Khatibi (at the Supreme Court's Sept. 28 conference), Manning (Section 8 warrantless searches), Jimenez v. Pan (race-based benefit for expectant mothers). Florida: the Medicare physical-therapy appeal.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
National Review
NR has run three PLF op-eds since August, including Ethan Blevins's piece on the Antiquities Act.
Until recently a Deseret News staff writer on the Politics and the West team, covering energy and the environment: Utah's nuclear push, the Bears Ears reductions, local control of national forests, a Utah–Argentina water and minerals deal, and the "data center vibe shift." Recently wrote on the University of Washington's $600,000 land-acknowledgment settlement.
PLF work to flag: The federal lands mineral-inventory study; Willard Land (Utah); PLF's data-center op-eds; Zhong v. UW as a follow-on to her UW story.
Recent PLF coverage: None found under her byline.
The New York Times
Covers D.C. federal court and the legal fights over executive power. Recent: a judge blocking Trump's second attempt to restrict birthright citizenship (Sept. 2026).
PLF work to flag: Structural cases: Gatzimos v. NOAA (a binding rule issued by an unconfirmed official), PLF's read of the Gorsuch concurrence in Trump v. Slaughter, and the fishermen defending the rollback of an Antiquities Act ocean monument.
Recent PLF coverage: None found under his byline.
NPR
Carrie Johnson Leaving early
Longtime voice on justice issues for Morning Edition and All Things Considered, now also covering the Supreme Court — e.g., Chief Justice Roberts weighing changes to oral argument (Sept. 2). Spent a decade at The Washington Post; Nieman fellow.
PLF work to flag: The Sept. 28 conference: Thompson v. Wilson (warrantless GPS tracking) and Khatibi; Anibowei (border phone searches — the ABA filed in support); PLF's April win against DOJ's sex-offender registry rule.
Recent PLF coverage: None found under her byline.
Politico & E&E News
Covers education policy and civil rights enforcement; Pulitzer finalist. Recent: the administration recommending the ABA lose its law-school accreditation role (Aug. 21), colleges and the $103K H-1B fee, and a new student-loan fight.
PLF work to flag: Zhong v. UW; PLF's petition to repeal the 1979 Title IX Policy Interpretation; Chen v. Mamdani (NYC specialized high schools); and PLF's 2025 report on ABA accreditation, built on records requests to 50 law schools — directly on point for her ABA story.
Recent PLF coverage: None found under her byline.
At E&E since 2019. Recent: the Michigan Supreme Court striking down the Line 5 permit and Interior easing Obama-era Arctic drilling rules (Aug. 2026).
PLF work to flag: The federal lands mineral-inventory study (agencies don't know what's under 28% of the country); PLF's challenges to Clean Water Act citizen suits (Amsted Graphite; Tennessee Riverkeeper dropped its suit); the gray wolf executive order.
Recent PLF coverage: None under his byline; E&E profiled PLF's Mark Miller in 2025 (Robin Bravender).
Joined Politico in 2025 to cover food and ag policy after five years as the Deseret News's national political correspondent (Cami Mondeaux's former colleague). Recent: farm-state Republicans angry about Trump's beef imports (Sept. 19) and governor candidates on AI regulation.
PLF work to flag: Farm-country cases: the Lummis Clean Water Act farming bill, the Hamilton $62M fine, Bingham (Idaho water), Fodé (Washington water rights), the King ranch jury-trial appeal, and the gray wolf order.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
Reason
PLF's most frequent national outlet. Beyond the bylines below, colleagues covered Anibowei (Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Aug. 19) and the Utah ditch case (Jeff Luse, Aug. 21).
Runs Reason's ongoing coverage of Flock license-plate cameras and police misuse of surveillance data, plus ICE accountability stories. J.D. from Colorado Law with a criminal-justice-reform background.
PLF work to flag: Thompson v. Wilson (GPS "black boxes" on lobster boats, Sept. 28 conference), Anibowei, Manning (Section 8 inspections), and PLF's guide to search rights when traveling.
Recent PLF coverage: "Federal judge delivers due process win against DOJ registry overreach" (Apr. 16, 2026), on PLF's win against DOJ's sex-offender registry rule, quoting PLF's Allison Daniel.
Reason's lead chronicler of home equity theft and government overreach against individuals; lately also immigration and the Lindsay Clancy trial.
PLF work to flag: Sandra May ($600K fine cut 95%), Ramirez v. Texas City (city demolished a contractor's home; appeals court restored his jury-trial right), Walls, and Kalahiki & Twitchell (Hawaii blood-quantum evictions).
Recent PLF coverage: Illinois home equity law (July 16, quoting Kileen Lindgren) and the Supreme Court's Pung ruling (June 23, quoting Larry Salzman).
Reason's housing and land-use reporter. Recent: rent control's comeback, special taxes on data centers (Sept. 18), "Federalism Will Save the Data Centers," the history of Euclidean zoning, and the Trump administration's YIMBY grants.
PLF work to flag: Data centers and property rights (Daniel Dew's WashEx op-ed against eminent domain for data centers); housing-cost cases: a $127K recreation fee, the Oregon modular-builder wage mandate, Willard Land, and the NYC rent-control family.
Recent PLF coverage: "Federal Court Slaps Down Rhode Island Town's Surprise Seizure of Family's Land" (July 29), on PLF's Santoro win, quoting Kady Valois.
Joined Reason in 2026 from London's Institute of Economic Affairs; frequent broadcast guest. Writes on health-care regulation, FDA overreach, free speech, and U.K. politics.
PLF work to flag: The Sept. 28 follow-up on Khatibi; health-care licensing: nurse-practitioner suits in North Carolina and Texas, the Medicare physical-therapy appeal, and the Puerto Rico certificate-of-need report.
Recent PLF coverage: "SCOTUS May Soon Determine If California Can Force Doctors To Learn About 'Implicit Bias'" (Sept. 18), on Khatibi, quoting PLF's Caleb Trotter.
Writes on free speech, education, tech, and media, with big reach across print, video, and podcasts. Recent: data centers ("Bad Reasons and Worse Reasons to Hate Data Centers"), NYC schools, Flock cameras, and "The 'Strange Death' of Libertarianism Is Greatly Exaggerated."
PLF work to flag: PLF's data-center op-ed in The Hill (Sept. 24); Chen v. Mamdani (NYC specialized high schools); Khatibi (compelled speech); Young (mandatory race-based training).
Recent PLF coverage: Nothing recent found. He broke Reason's coverage of PLF's 2022 student-loan lawsuit.
USA Today
USA Today ran PLF's op-ed on Medicare coverage of CBD this month.
Covers free speech, press, and religion cases nationally — recently Disney's First Amendment suit against the FCC (Aug. 2026). UVA alum; previously at the Arizona Republic.
PLF work to flag: Khatibi (compelled speech, Sept. 28 conference); Tiny Zaps (South Carolina's tattoo limits as a free-expression case); the California Defty anti-SLAPP ruling PLF backed as amicus.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
Washington Examiner
The Examiner has run two PLF op-eds since August (federal lands mineral inventory; eminent domain for data centers).
Covers the Supreme Court and federal appeals courts. Recent: a term preview of six major cases (Sept. 20), the Missouri congressional map, and a Third Circuit challenge to Delaware's assisted-suicide law. Formerly breaking news; before that, The Center Square.
PLF work to flag: The five PLF petitions at the Sept. 28 long conference (Khatibi, Thompson, SoHo/NoHo, Majestic Realty, AFEF; see top) and PLF's other pending petitions: Young, Anibowei, Walls.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
Covers DOJ and federal law enforcement. Recent: a judge questioning the national-security case for Trump's press ban, and Flock adding guardrails under Senate scrutiny (both Sept. 23). Former fellow at The Hill.
PLF work to flag: Fourth Amendment and DOJ cases: Thompson v. Wilson, Anibowei (DHS/CBP phone searches), and PLF's April win against DOJ's sex-offender registry rule.
Recent PLF coverage: Nothing in 2026. On the Supreme Court beat he covered PLF's Tyler v. Hennepin County at argument and decision (2023), and PLF's student-loan suit (2022).
Covers the economy, business, and economic policy — e.g., Sen. Sanders's plan for an AI commission with broad economic power. Previously covered politics and crime for the Ketchikan Daily News in Alaska.
PLF work to flag: Mortgage Bankers Association v. New Jersey (disparate-impact lending rule), the Nevada brokers win (interstate commerce), the Oregon out-of-state wage mandate, and California's forced research-funding scheme.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
Covers energy policy, permitting, and environmental regulation — recently the diesel export ban and California's fight over a canceled wind project (Sept. 2026). Formerly at the National Law Journal and Inside Trade.
PLF work to flag: The gray wolf order (Mark Miller's statement), Clean Water Act citizen-suit challenges (Amsted Graphite), Willard Land, and the mineral-inventory study her paper ran as an op-ed.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
Runs the Examiner's web operation, shaping what gets played on the site; writes weekend and breaking news when needed (e.g., Iran war updates, March 2026). University of Arkansas grad from Alexandria, Va.
PLF work to flag: Quick-turn items with strong visuals or clear stakes: Supreme Court orders following the Sept. 28 conference, Sandra May, and Farris (retired general vs. sheriff over trespassing hunters).
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
The Washington Sun
Covers immigration enforcement and the politics around it. Recent: Democrats' "shadow hearings" on ICE, an ICE officer's shooting of a DoorDash driver, and a judge limiting ICE searches at construction sites (Sept. 2026). Previously at NOTUS and the Florida Phoenix.
PLF work to flag: Anibowei — a Dallas immigration attorney whose phone was searched five times at the border without a warrant, now at the Supreme Court; PLF's travel search-rights guide.
Recent PLF coverage: None found.
The Washington Times
Alexandria (Alex) Swoyer Arriving ~6:30
A licensed attorney covering the Supreme Court and legal fights; author of Lawless Lawfare. Recent: a petition asking the Court to discipline Hawaii Supreme Court justices over a "white sight" remark, and Trump's E. Jean Carroll appeal (Aug. 2026).
PLF work to flag: The five PLF petitions at the Sept. 28 conference (Khatibi, Thompson, SoHo/NoHo, Majestic Realty, AFEF; see top); Young; Kalahiki & Twitchell (Hawaii blood-quantum evictions) alongside her Hawaii story; PLF attorneys as Court Watch guests.
Recent PLF coverage: None found in 2026. Her paper covered PLF's Tyler v. Hennepin County through the 2023 decision.
PLF work referenced above
Newest first. "Good for" lists the attendees each item fits best.
| When | Matter | What it is | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 28 | Khatibi & Thompson v. Wilson | At the Supreme Court's long conference: California's implicit-bias training mandate for doctors; 24/7 GPS tracking of lobster boats. | Birle, Swoyer, Johnson, Ibrahim, Frank, Billings, Deese |
| Sept. 28 | Coalition for Fairness in SoHo and NoHo v. NYC | At the long conference (petition filed April 2026): NYC's "Arts Fund" fee of $100+ per square foot, about $250,000 per artist loft, to convert to regular residential use. Takings Clause exactions case. | Britschgi, Scanland, Birle, Swoyer |
| Sept. 28 | Majestic Realty v. Salazar | At the long conference (petition filed May 26): Redlands, Calif., mall owners ask the Court to overturn PruneYard, which forces private businesses to host activists. First and Fifth Amendments. | Frank, Soave, Ceballos, Birle, Swoyer |
| Sept. 28 | Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County | At the long conference (petition filed July 2): mostly Asian American parents challenge magnet middle school admissions changes that cut Asian American admissions 23% in 2017 and 20% more in 2018. | Quilantan, Soave, Birle, Swoyer |
| Sept. 24 | Data-center op-ed (The Hill) | Treat data centers like any other industry: existing nuisance law, no special bans or subsidies. | Soave, Britschgi, Scanland, Terry |
| Sept. 22 | Bingham v. Idaho Dept. of Water Resources | Idaho farm family barred from pumping groundwater for over a year despite senior water rights. | Benson, Bowden, Mondeaux |
| Sept. | Farris v. Warren | Retired brigadier general sues a Virginia sheriff over hunters trespassing on his 80-acre farm. | Stewart, Binion |
| Sept. 15 | Zhong v. Univ. of Washington | PLF joins Stanley Zhong's challenge to UW's race-conscious admissions. | Quilantan, Quinn, Terry |
| Sept. 14 | Lobster-boat op-ed (Washington Post) | PLF's case for why the Thompson petition matters beyond New England. | Billings, Deese, Johnson |
| Sept. 9 | Eisenberg (Nevada brokers) | Win: judge strikes Nevada's rule forcing out-of-state real-estate brokers to do business from an in-state office. | Halaschak |
| Sept. 9 | Wells & UPTA (Medicare) | Florida physical therapist appeals to the 11th Circuit over Medicare's private-pay ban. | Ibrahim, Ceballos |
| Sept. 8 | Young v. Colorado DOC | Cert petition: argues mandatory training that blamed employees by race created a hostile work environment. | Birle, Swoyer, Quinn, Soave |
| Sept. 4 | Ramirez v. Texas City | Win: Fifth Circuit affirms jury-trial right for a contractor whose home the city demolished without notice. | Binion, Monyak |
| Sept. 4 | Gray wolf executive order | PLF statement: FWS scientists already found western gray wolves no longer meet the ESA definition. | Merino, Anchondo, Benson |
| Sept. 3 | MBA v. New Jersey | Mortgage Bankers Association challenges New Jersey's disparate-impact lending rule. | Halaschak |
| Sept. | Gallagher (N.C.) / McCoy (Texas) | Nurse practitioners challenge rules requiring physician sign-off to practice; in Texas they must pay for it (Texas suit filed July 22). | Ibrahim |
| Aug. 27 | Federal lands study (WashEx op-ed) | Agencies lack mineral inventories for the 28% of U.S. land they own. | Anchondo, Merino, Mondeaux, Terry |
| Aug. 26 | Data-center eminent domain (WashEx op-ed) | Daniel Dew: owners should be free to refuse; no federal eminent domain for data centers. | Britschgi, Soave |
| Aug. 26 | King ranch appeal | Washington ranchers seek a jury before the state fines them over alleged wetland violations. | Benson, Monyak |
| Aug. 26 | Goldberg (Pennsylvania) | Pa. Supreme Court will hear a jury-trial challenge to nearly $1M in agency penalties. | Scanland |
| Aug. 21 | Defty anti-SLAPP | PLF-backed win (amicus): California Supreme Court leaves in place a ruling that an agency can't use anti-SLAPP law against a farmer's legitimate claims. | Frank |
| Aug. 20 | Modular Building Institute v. Oregon | Challenge to Oregon applying its prevailing-wage law to out-of-state fabrication. | Halaschak, Britschgi |
| Aug. 17 | Anibowei v. Blanche | Cert petition: warrantless border searches of phones (five of his since 2016). | Llanos, Johnson, Deese, Billings, Birle |
| Aug. | Gatzimos v. NOAA | Appointments Clause challenge to a dolphin-contact ban issued without a Senate-confirmed official. | Montague |
| Aug. 11 | Willard Land v. Army Corps | Utah homebuilder's 265-home project blocked over an irrigation ditch; post-Sackett overreach claim. | Mondeaux, Terry, Britschgi, Merino |
| Aug. | Amsted Graphite / Springfield, Tenn. | Challenges to Clean Water Act citizen suits; the Tennessee plaintiff dropped its case after PLF stepped in. | Anchondo, Merino |
| Aug. | Lummis farm bill / Hamilton fine | Senate bill restoring Clean Water Act farming exemptions; a Wyoming landowner facing a $62M fine. | Schilke, Benson, Bowden |
| Aug. | Willmore Lumber v. Dept. of Labor | Idaho family lumber company challenges OSHA's in-house adjudication; Seventh Amendment. | Monyak |
| July 31 | Conservation Law Foundation v. Trump | New England fishermen intervene to defend rescinding a 5,000-sq.-mile Antiquities Act fishing ban. | Montague, Mondeaux |
| July 28 | Santoro (Johnston, R.I.) | Win: court voids a town's eminent-domain seizure meant to block a 252-unit housing project. | Britschgi |
| July 28 | Houston contracting | Win: court permanently strikes Houston's racial subcontracting preferences. | Halaschak, Birle |
| July 27 | Kalahiki & Twitchell | Kaua'i residents facing eviction under a 50% Native Hawaiian ancestry rule. | Swoyer, Binion |
| July 24 | Sandra May | Win: Honolulu's $600K fine on an 83-year-old retiree cut 95% (Eighth Amendment). | Binion, Bowden, Stewart |
| July 22 | Walls | Cert petition: courts required a property owner to petition the county legislature before hearing his takings claim. | Monyak, Birle, Binion |
| July 17 | Manning v. California | Mandatory Section 8 participation subjects landlords to warrantless inspections. | Billings, Ceballos |
| July 17 | Tiny Zaps (South Carolina) | First Amendment challenge to limits on tattoo shop locations and head, face, and neck tattoos. | Frank |
Beats, photos, and recent bylines checked against Muck Rack, outlet author pages, and published stories on Sept. 24, 2026. PLF items come from pacificlegal.org press releases, case pages, and The Docket (July–Sept. 2026). "None found" means searches turned up no PLF coverage under that byline, not that none exists.